Several Iranian Jewish writers and thinkers responded to the explication of the Thirteen Principles of the Jewish faith by Moses Maimonides in Pereq Ḥeleq of his Commentary on the Mishna by delineating what they believed to be the essential tenets of Judaism. Among them was the sixteenth-century poet Imrānī, who composed a Judeo-Persian versified commentary to the Principles entitled Vājibāt va arkān-i sīzdahgānih-yi īmān-i Israʾel (Thirteen Principles and Pillars of the Faith of Israel). Another was Elisha ben Samuel, who incorporated a brief listing of the Principles in…